Strengthening Democracy with Data

In 2024, UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy launched a new initiative focused on strengthening democracy policy in California and nationwide through research, teaching, and collaboration with practitioners and organizers working in communities across the state. With core support from the Haas, Jr. Fund and other philanthropic partners*, the Democracy Policy Initiative (DPI) is stepping confidently into its mission to serve as a “research and practice hub” for exploring policy solutions that can help to build a more equitable and representative democracy. Most recently, they introduced the Berkeley Democracy Policy Fellowship, which brings together eight respected community leaders from across California to bring community voices into the heart of public problem-solving.

The Haas, Jr. Fund recently spoke with Jacob (Jake) Grumbach, who leads the DPI’s research arm. Professor Grumbach shared how he and his team are using rigorous quantitative research to investigate the rules and institutions that shape political participation and representation in the U.S.—and how we can make democracy work better for everyone. A San Francisco native who received a master’s and a PhD in political science at UC Berkeley, Grumbach returned to the university in 2023 as an associate professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy. 

What drew you to this work personally?

Jake Grumbach: I started my academic career caring deeply about health care. I saw people suffering because they couldn’t afford basic services, and I wanted to fix that. But I realized that getting everyone health insurance wasn’t just a technical problem—it was a democracy problem. Even when a majority of Americans support something like universal coverage, we often can’t pass it because political institutions aren’t responsive to public opinion.

That realization pulled me to studying political equality: Why do some voices matter more than others in our system? How can we build institutions that actually reflect the will of the people?

What exactly is “democracy policy,” and how is it different from political science or public policy more broadly?

JG: Democracy policy is about the rules of the game—who can participate in our political system, how their voices are counted, and whether our institutions respond to the public’s needs. Unlike traditional political science—which often focuses on Congress, the Presidency, or voter psychology—democracy policy asks how we can design institutions and policies that produce a stronger connection between ordinary people and policy outcomes.

We use rigorous, mostly quantitative research to explore this question. We’re trying to move beyond abstract theory to answer real-world, policy-relevant questions. For example: What voting reforms increase voter participation among young people and marginalized groups? How responsive are state governments to public opinion? Who has influence in our campaign finance system—and who’s left out?

Why does the type of research you and your team are doing matter?

JG: Because policy debates—and even legal battles—often hinge on evidence. Our job is to produce the best possible data to inform those conversations.

Take voting rights. There’s been a lot of noise around voter identification laws and other election policies and how they do or don’t reduce voter turnout. At DPI we’ve shown that voter ID laws may not drastically reduce aggregate turnout, but they do disenfranchise some groups—and they don’t improve election security. Meanwhile, we’ve also shown how reforms like same-day voter registration, universal mail voting, and automatic voter registration have clear positive effects, especially for low-propensity voters.

We’ve also shown how money in politics dramatically skews representation. For example, Black and Latina women make up a 16 percent of the U.S. population but account for a tiny fraction of political donations—often less than 1%. That’s a massive disparity in political influence that needs to be addressed.

That data is important—but why should the average person care about this kind of research?

JG: Because democracy is supposed to be about all of us. But right now, the rules are rigged in ways that favor the few over the many. When our votes don’t count equally—because of gerrymandering, for instance—or when only a narrow slice of the population funds political campaigns, we all lose power.

Our research helps shine a light on those imbalances. And it can point the way toward reforms that would make our system more fair, inclusive, and responsive.

For example, one of our flagship projects is the State Democracy Index, which uses 51 indicators to assess electoral democracy across all 50 states. It looks at both “inputs”—like whether a state offers automatic voter registration—and “outputs,” like how representative its policy outcomes are compared to public opinion.

What’s needed to strengthen democracy—both in California and nationally?

JG: California is doing some things right. We have fairer redistricting, better access to voting, and experiments with participatory governance. But we’re still an economically unequal state, and many people—especially young people and low-wage workers—are disconnected from political power.

Nationally, the stakes are even higher. We need structural reforms like banning partisan gerrymandering, adopting proportional representation, and limiting Supreme Court terms. But we also need to rebuild trust. That means investing in institutions that foster solidarity—like labor unions, universities, and even walkable neighborhoods where people interact across lines of difference.

And yes, we need to take seriously the ways that technology, particularly smartphones and social media, are undermining trust and social cohesion. I say that as someone who loves my phone—but I see the damage it’s doing to democracy.

Are you hopeful about the future of democracy?

JG: I think we have to be. The problems are real and urgent—but so is the energy for change. I’ve seen that evidence still matters, even in polarized times. I’ve seen young people engage when given real opportunities. And I’ve seen coalitions come together across difference to fight for a better system.

If we want democracy to thrive, we need to design institutions that reflect our values—equality, fairness, and shared power—and we need to do it together.

*Other philanthropic partners supporting the The Democracy Policy Initiative (DPI)  include the Levi Strauss Foundation, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, and the Peter E. Haas, Jr. Fund.

The Democracy Policy Initiative (DPI) is an intellectual and organizing hub for confronting complex challenges to democracy in the United States. Learn more about the initiative here.